Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for Houghton and Sunderland South, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, which local authorities have achieved the highest increase in levels of voter registration in the last two years; and what steps have been taken to ensure that the practices leading to such increases are adopted in other local authorities.

Bridget Phillipson: The Electoral Commission does not measure changes in levels of voter registration at a local authority level. The only reliable method for assessing registration levels (the completeness of the registers) is through research using house-to-house surveying, to gather data on residents and match this against information held on the electoral registers.The Commission carries out such studies at regular intervals but they do not allow for an assessment of registration for individual local authorities, which would be prohibitively expensive owing to the size of sample required.As part of the Commission’s guidance and support programme for electoral administrators, it works closely with the electoral community to identify and share good electoral practice. This includes highlighting specific examples of good practice in electoral registration and embedding them throughout its suite of guidance and resources for electoral registration officers.

Electoral Register: British Nationals Abroad

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for Houghton and Sunderland South, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what the cost to the public purse was of registering each overseas voter in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Bridget Phillipson: The Electoral Commission does not hold this data.